The Automated Transfer Vehicle is an ESA project, as a European contribution to the International Space Station programme. This 20 ton cargo ship has been designed to supply the ISS. The ATV's way to the ISS is long and complex. The first step consists of injecting the ATV on an orbit close to the ISS one (circular, 250 km altitude, with 52 degrees inclination). Ariane 5 and its ground segment perform this first step. The telemetry network was composed of 6 telemetry stations: French Guiana station, SNA (a naval station), Santa Maria in the Acores, Dongara, Adelaide and Awarua. This telemetry network was deployed especially for the ATV launch. The fact that the on-board launcher avionics had not been qualified to ensure the necessary navigation precision for a mission profile of such a low orbit or duration added additional complexities to the design of the Ariane 5 telemetry network. In order to improve the designation accuracy, a dedicated radar network and its associated operations center were implemented in Europe to track the launcher, collect radar measurements in near real-time, extrapolate an orbit within a couple of minutes and distribute real-time designation data to the Ariane 5 telemetry network to ensure visibility of critical mission events. The purpose of this paper is to present the Ariane 5 V181 telemetry network, including the radar network. This paper also presents the real-time operations and the coordination of the ATV launch.
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